{"id":207,"date":"2013-11-09T07:07:27","date_gmt":"2013-11-09T12:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.allergyhome.org\/blogger\/?p=207"},"modified":"2013-11-19T09:27:55","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T14:27:55","slug":"superman-food-allergy-and-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allergyhome.org\/blogger\/superman-food-allergy-and-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Superman, Food Allergy and Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>Written by Michael Pistiner, MD, MMSc<\/a><\/p>\n

Faster than a speeding bullet<\/b><\/h1>\n

\"Kryptonite\"<\/a>Superman is the epitome of health: able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound, more powerful than a locomotive.\u00a0 \u00a0Much like many of our children, superman is seemingly invincible. \u00a0And, much like children with food allergy and other causes of anaphylaxis, Superman is weakened and in danger with even the smallest amount of a substance that is harmless to most. \u00a0In his case, Kryptonite\u00a0and in theirs, an allergen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How can it be? It’s just a food allergy.<\/b><\/h1>\n

For some, this idea of going from perfect health to a life threatening reaction is a very difficult concept to accept.\u00a0 It can sometimes be hard for parents to look at their healthy, active child and imagine that they could ever be sickened, let alone experience a life threatening reaction (anaphylaxis) to a food. When past reactions have been severe though, all it takes is once and the reality sinks in hard and fast. \u00a0A family’s surrounding community may take a bit of education to “get it.” When the people that parents rely on have a difficult time\u00a0accepting the reality of a food allergy, it can make our job as parents very challenging.\u00a0\u00a0 We need secondary care providers: babysitters, relatives, coaches, etc., to implement the very same avoidance strategies that we do when they care for our children. \u00a0It takes effort for us to get them on the same page. It can be dangerous if we compromise food allergy management for even a moment.<\/p>\n

Food Allergies Bring Change<\/b><\/h1>\n

\"pillars<\/a>Having a child with a food allergy means that\u00a0we need to modify our behavior. \u00a0At times we need to call attention to ourselves when we may not want to.\u00a0 For example,\u00a0in a restaurant when we need to ask to speak to the manager and chef, or before school starts when we set up meetings with the school nurse.\u00a0\u00a0 We must bring auto-injectors with us everywhere and at times restrict foods. \u00a0Sometimes it may feel like it is\u00a0going\u00a0against the grain. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>At times we may need to be the ones to administer an auto-injector into our own child’s thigh. These are all things that many of us wouldn’t be doing unless we had to. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It takes food allergy education<\/b><\/h1>\n

When people perceive certain\u00a0situations as being less risky than others, they may not implement appropriate food allergy management.\u00a0\u00a0 If caregivers do not have the opportunity to learn the basics, such as how to read a label, the importance of epinephrine, or how to give an auto injector, it will be impossible for them to do what they need to do.\u00a0\u00a0Access to allergists can be problematic in some\u00a0areas, with\u00a0few physicians and long wait times.\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes, primary care providers and emergency department doctors may not have the time or awareness of the importance of prevention and preparedness strategies so this teaching may not happen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bringing health to patients and families with food allergies<\/b><\/h1>\n

For healthcare providers,\u00a0ensuring our\u00a0patients’ health may be more complicated than just delivering basic\u00a0medical care (diagnosing food allergy and anaphylaxis, prescribing auto-injectors, etc). Other factors that play a huge role in\u00a0management of food allergic patients\u00a0must be considered and addressed, especially\u00a0 behavior and social circumstances. This is the case in many chronic diseases (diabetes, asthma, obesity, high blood pressure, etc.). Behavioral and social contributors play major roles in a patient’s health. (McGiniss et. al. The Case for More Active Policy Attention to Health Promotion. Health affairs<\/i>. 2002<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0This is clearly seen with managing food allergies.<\/p>\n

Behavior clearly plays a role in adolescents and \u00a0young adults with food allergies. \u00a0They are the highest risk age group for food allergy related deaths.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Risk taking behavior (Sampson et. al. Risk-taking and Coping Strategies of Young Adults with Food Allergies. JACI<\/i>, 2006)<\/a> <\/strong>may play a major role in this increased mortality in this age group as a result of social pressures and compromised decision making. \u00a0Doctors and other healthcare providers must encourage behaviors that decrease risk and prevent accidental exposures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We must also take our patients and families’ social situations into consideration when educating about food allergy management.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Social media can extend the reach of food allergy providers<\/b><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Social<\/a>

Social media can extend the reach of allergy providers<\/p><\/div>\n

Healthcare providers see our patients for a very small percentage\u00a0of their lives, no more than a few hours\u00a0over the course of a\u00a0year.\u00a0\u00a0The time that we are face to face truly needs to be optimized. \u00a0Another way we can help families modify behavior is to extend our reach and have more contact points with the families that we serve. The internet can be a great resource for this. Using online teaching\u00a0tools<\/a> can help give the families an awareness to help them modify behavior. \u00a0The addition of social media and an online community can take it a\u00a0step further. \u00a0Countless parents are discovering that they are not alone.\u00a0\u00a0With the support of\u00a0these new communities, making the behavioral change, and managing food allergies in all settings \u00a0isn’t quite so isolating or difficult.<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

With great power comes great\u00a0responsibility<\/b><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Using social media and blogging is an amazing way to share what we\u00a0have learned so other individuals and families\u00a0don’t need to face the same challenges and feel overwhelmed.\u00a0\u00a0It’s an amazing thing to be able to write for and lend support to an immediate audience of thousands.\u00a0There are so many that rely so heavily on social media as a primary source of their health information.\u00a0 And for all of us that are using this venue to share and to educate, whether\u00a0it be patient, parent, nurse,\u00a0or doctor, it\u00a0so important for us to be meticulous in fact checking and to be careful in the messages that we deliver. \u00a0We all must take this seriously when lives may depend on it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Where do you get your food allergy management information?<\/h1>\n

Before leaving this blog please drop a comment below sharing where you get the majority of your information about food allergy management. Is it your healthcare providers or is it from social media or the internet?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Michael Pistiner, MD, MMSc Faster than a speeding bullet Superman is the epitome of health: able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound, more powerful than a locomotive.\u00a0 \u00a0Much like many of our children, superman is seemingly invincible. \u00a0And, much like children with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,1],"tags":[38,11,7,33,13,21,5,35,36,10,32,31,37,39],"class_list":["post-207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coping","category-uncategorized","tag-adolescent","tag-allergyhome","tag-anaphylaxis","tag-blogger","tag-epinephrine","tag-food-allergies","tag-food-allergy","tag-food-allergy-management","tag-kryptonite","tag-michael-pistiner","tag-social-media","tag-superman","tag-teenager","tag-young-adult"],"yoast_head":"\nSuperman, Food Allergy and Social Media - Blog @ AllergyHome.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ensuring that food allergy management occurs at all times takes education and effort. 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